My Car Got Finally Got Painted!

The car while it was getting prepped for paint. We tried to remove as much as it was practically possible: window trim, door handles etc

Sitting in the paint booth with the first few coats of waterborne base, 3R1 Matador Red Mica, same color as before (my sig)

The door handles had to be painted separately. This is probably one of the most critical things to do when it comes to painting an SC/Soarer. The handles are a much more difficult than other cars to remove so many shops would leave the handles on, which would lead to problems down the road.

Matte pearl Matador Red Mica doesn't look too bad on an SC. I actually entertained myself on doing it but a matte paint job doesn't go too well with the current theme with polished wheels, chrome trim, and chrome exhaust.

Allowing the waterborne base coat to flash off (dry) before applying clear coat is one of the critical steps. Unlike the old solvent based paints, water takes a bit longer to dry. Out in Rancho Cucamonga in the hot summer, anything liquid would quickly evaporate so this wasn't much of a problem. Now that the base flashed off. Time for clear coat!

BASF, the preferred brand of many legendary car builders such as Chip Foose himself.

Show time! Makito Nakai working his magic, laying down 3 coats of clear

Voila! 3 coats of BASF clear brought the pearl base coat to life with a deep wet gloss!

3M Back Tape to fold back the rubber seals around the windows and windshield. It is cheaper and less headache than calling a auto glass guy to remove the glass and charging a few hundred dollars.

Properly masking a car is no easy task as it took a few hours to do it properly. It is one of the critical steps of making or breaking a paint job.

With an experienced and competent painter like Makito, there are no drips, sags, and very little orange peel.

Letting it dry in the booth overnight and cure for a week and then it will get wet-sanded next weekend hopefully